Fritillary Butterflies

One of our favorite butterfly families, the Fritillary offers much color and geographic distribution. Their name is derived from the Latin word, fritillus, meaning chessboard; it is also the name of a flower featuring a checkered pattern.

There are fourteen species of the greater fritillaries (genus Speyeria) and sixteen lesser fritillaries (genus Bolloria). 

Most are orange and black with various checkered designs. Many are similar, and difficult to identify. Here are some common ones seen around the USA:

Gulf Fritillary Butterfly click for details
Variegated Fritillary click for details
Mormon Fritillary click for details
Great Spangled Fritillary click for details
Zerene Fritillary click for details
Diana Fritillary click for details
Great Basin Fritillary click for details
Nokomis Fritillary (male) click for details
Nokomis Fritillary (female) click for details
Purplish Fritillary
Aphrodite Fritillary
Mexican Fritillary
Edwards Fritillary
Pacific Fritillary
Silver-bordered Fritillary

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